"My Agile Suitcase" - A humorous look at using Scrum to rescue a failing project. Uploaded as a PDF to make he comments easily visible.

1. Hey
everyone,
how
are
you
doing
here
on
Agile
Island?
I
am
so
glad
to
be
back!
How's
the
cool-­‐aid?
Great
Stuff,
huh?
I
just
got
back
from
Waterfall
Island
–
you
see,
there
was
this
sinking
ship
that
needed
saving...
Since
so
many
of
us
get
called
over
there,
I've
been
asked
to
share
the
contents
of
my
Agile
suitcase.
What
do
I
use
to
save
the
ship?

2. One
problem:
They
don't
like
cool-­‐aid
on
waterfall
Island.
“That
may
be
cool
in
Colorado,
but
not
here!”
So
I
don't
tell
them
about
the
cool-­‐aid.
So
what
do
I
bring
instead?
QuesNons.
Twenty
powerful
quesNons?
Nope!
I've
only
got
18
more
slides.
2

3. The
first
Nme
I
went
to
waterfall
island,
the
chief
developer
said
to
me,
I've
been
here
since
the
beginning.
You're
Project
Leader
number
5.
Why
should
I
pay
any
aYenNon
to
you?
You
team's
EmoNons
are
the
key
to
your
success!
So
how
do
you
get
them
on
board?
3

4. Note
the
use
of
the
word,
“we”!
I
like
to
start
with
the
ship,
and
the
team's
concerns…
There
is
a
ship
out
there
sinking.
It's
our
job
to
save
it.
And
someone
is
really
desperate
to
have
it
saved.
Let's
get
agreement
that
we're
here
to
save
the
ship
And
focus
on
that!
4

5. What
beYer
way
to
get
the
team
on
your
side
than
to
start
addressing
their
issues?
We
talked
about
our
goals.
What
is
making
them
hard?
What
can
we
do
to
make
it
easier?
The
people
on
the
project
are
experts!
They
know
where
the
issues
are.
Help
them
and
they'll
help
you.
5

6. Quick
quesNon
for
you:
How
many
of
you
are
working
on
your
best
project
ever?
Quick
show
of
hands
Quite
a
lot
of
you!
Of
course
–
you're
doing
Scrum!
How
about
that
floundering
team…?
Hardly
any!
So
this
is
my
first
impediment!
6

7. So
I
ask
the
team
to
share
the
stories
of
their
best
projects.
If
we
want
this
project
to
be
more
like
our
best
projects,
What
are
the
paYerns
we
should
emulate?
This
list
is
preYy
typical,
especially
the
stuff
on
the
lea.
In
fact,
if
you
agree
to
do
Scrum,
this
is
what
you
should
be
able
to
achieve,
including
the
stuff
on
the
right.
Uh-­‐oh,
I
just
menNoned
the
cool-­‐aid....
7

8. Is
this
is
a
silly
quesNon,
or
what?
Scrum
implements
a
couple
of
simple
paYerns:
Inspect
and
Adapt
at
regular
intervals
Deliver
stuff
that
works
every
sprint.
The
whole
team
solves
the
problem
A
coach
helps
the
team
perform
beYer
One
voice
speaks
for
the
customer
.
8

9. It's
not
cool
aid.
It's
what
we
know
works
well.
So
I
always
start
with
Scrum!
Who
is
going
to
be
that
one
voice?
Well,
who
is
feeling
the
pain?
Who
is
most
worried
about
the
ship?
Who's
bonus
will
be
cut
if
the
project
fails?
That's
person
I
want
as
product
owner.
9

10. Next
I
ask
the
PO
where
it
hurts.
Arrah!!,
it
hurts
everywhere!
The
ship
is
sinking!
Do
something!
My
first
Product
Owner
was
so
frustrated,
any
issue
provoked
a
cry
of
pain!
What
did
I
do?
Help
him
calm
down
so
we
could
work
construcNvely
together.
10

11. You
team
likes
problems.
So
here
is
their
first
problem!
Some
thing
for
them
to
work
on
While
I
calm
down
the
Product
Owner.
If
we
are
going
to
ship
something,
it
has
to
be
done.
What
does
it
mean
to
be
done?
How
do
we
know
it's
done?
11

12. Now
its
Nme
to
go
back
to
Product
Owner
And
talk
about
the
ship.
When
does
it
need
to
float?
-­‐-­‐
By
Christmas.
What
does
that
ship
need
to
float?
-­‐-­‐
Everything!
OK…
what
should
we
do
first?
Refurbishing
the
captains
quarters!?
Why
will
that
help
the
ship
float?
“Why?”
is
a
great
tool
for
prioriNzaNon
12

13. Will
an
investment
in
performance
give
a
return?
If
everyone
is
under
so
much
pressure,
that
the
answer
is
no,
maybe
that
ship
is
already
sunk..
.
In
which
case,
I
can
go
home
early.
13

14. I
like
to
think
of
Scrum
as
a
set
of
working
agreements.
Things
we
do,
constraints
we
accept,
so
we
can
be
more
effecNve.
What
else
can
we
do?
Keep
asking
this
quesNon.
Small
things
add
up!
This
is
how
we
improve
performance
with
Scrum.
This
is
how
we
get
happier
teams.
14

15. Delivering
something
useful
every
two
weeks
can
be
a
huge
challenge.
Some
may
even
ask
why
we
need
it…
Simple!
So
we
can
do
it
on
demand.
This
is
where
we
start
the
conversaNon
about
engineering
pracNces.
You
won't
deliver
reliably
without
them!
15

16. How
do
you
know
the
cool-­‐aid
is
having
it's
effect?
How
do
you
know
it's
real
and
not
cool-­‐aid?
Two
signs:
SNcky
notes
everywhere!
BeYer
morale
(Gelng
closer
to
our
best
project!)
One
team
said,
“But
we're
not
allowed
to
put
stuff
on
the
walls!
“
So
we
put
sNckies
on
around
our
screens.
WaiNng,
working…
done!
I
guess
we
showed
them
–
Ha!
16

17. SNckies
and
markers
can
be
hard
to
find
on
Waterfall
Island.
So
I
bring
my
own.
At
least
enough
to
get
started.
We
use
them
to
make
InformaNon
radiators
,
which
help
us
go
from
from
poliNcs
to
problem
solving.
17

18. Saving
ships
is
a
hard
job!
The
danger
is
burning
out.
Many
of
my
colleagues
have
had
health
problems,
weight
problems,
you-­‐name-­‐it
problems...
I've
had
my
share.
I
always
took
my
swimsuit
with
me.
Now
I
actually
try
to
use
it
on
every
trip.
And..
sleep
is
important.
My
Tip:
Sauna
or
Hot
Tub!
18

19. How
do
I
take
care
of
my
team?
Man!
I
have
no
idea!
I
wish
I
had
the
answer
the
answer
to
this
one.
Where's
Lyssa
Adkins
when
I
need
her?
Every
team
is
different,
and
someNmes
even
the
“hero”
needs
to
ask
for
help!
19

20. Nothing
ruins
a
good
coaching
assignment
like
overstaying
your
welcome.
Sooner
is
later
that
boat
is
floaNng
and
your
team
has
things
under
control.
It's
OK.
It's
Nme
to
go
back
to
Agile
Island.
Time
to
tank
energy,
and
share
stories!
My
Nme
is
up,
thank
you
for
yours!
And
see
you
in
the
open
space…
20

21.
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